Plane carrying 71 passengers crashes in Kathmandu

Police and army were trying to cut the plane apart to rescue passengers. SAROJ BASNET/AFP / Saroj BASNET

In Summary

A Bangladeshi plane with 67 passengers and four crew on board crashed and burst into flames as it was coming in to land at Kathmandu airport Monday, with officials saying they had pulled bodies and injured people from the wreckage.

At least 27 people were killed when a Bangladeshi passenger plane crashed in Kathmandu on Monday, an official said.

The plane crashed as it was coming in to land, sending firefighters scrambling to extinguish the burning wreckage and rescue survivors.

At least 27 people were killed when a Bangladeshi passenger plane crashed in Kathmandu on Monday, an official said.

“The chances of rescuing anyone (else) alive is slim now because the plane was badly burned,” said army spokesman Gokul Bhandaree, who confirmed the deaths. Another official earlier said 20 injured people had been taken to hospital.

There were 67 passengers and four crew on board the US-Bangla Airlines plane from Dhaka with officials saying they had pulled bodies and injured people from the wreckage.

The US-Bangla Airlines plane was arriving from Dhaka when it crashed into a football field near the airport.

Plumes of black smoke could be seen rising from the football pitch where the plane crashed, to the east of the runway at Nepal’s only international airport, in the capital Kathmandu.

“Police and army are trying to cut apart the plane to rescue others,” airport spokesman Prem Nath Thakur said.